A dark horse candidate who painted a massive "Trump 2020" sign on his lawn is the official GOP nominee to represent Ohio's 9th district in the House of Representatives.
J.R. Majewski, 42, a far-right Donald Trump supporter, secured the victory on Tuesday, beating out all three of his opponents, two of whom were state legislators. The Trump supporter won 36 percent of the vote in the primary election. He will now be running against Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, who has spent roughly forty years in Congress and is currently the longest-sitting member of Congress.
In the past, Majewski's district has been a Democratic stronghold, as Vice reports. However, the state's latest round of redistricting has given Republicans a slight edge, throwing Kaptur's re-election chances into doubt. Cook Political Report has called the district's upcoming election a toss-up.
Majewski, Air Force veteran, has no apparent political experience. At present, he serves as an executive at a corporation that facilitates the storage of used nuclear fuel, according to The Toledo Blade.
RELATED: QAnon expert: Unhappy believers are now being lured into far-right extremist groups
Majewski made headlines back in 2020 after painting a "Trump 2020" sign on his 19,000-square-foot lawn. Majewski asked for $45,000 in donations at the time in order to preserve the grandiose display. He then wore a QAnon t-shirt while he was being interviewed about his sign on Fox News.
According to Alex Kaplan, a senior researcher at Media Matters, Majewski appears to be associated with QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory alleging that a cabal of cannibalistic, Satan-worshipping child abusers secretly plotted against Trump during his time in office. In the past, Majewski has tweeted out "WWG1WGA," a popular QAnon slogan that stands for "Where we go one, we go all." Additionally, Majewski is friends with Zac Paine, a QAnon influencer whose show he's appeared on, according to Vice.
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Back in January 2021 Majewski reportedly raised thousands of dollars to fund a 30-person caravan to D.C. in protest of the 2020 presidential election. While there, Majewski attended the "Stop the Steal" rally, but by his own account, did not participate in the Capitol riot.
Majewski, who is running on an "America First" platform, has received endorsements from longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who recently made an appearance at a white nationalist conference.
RELATED: Meet the scariest Republican candidates of 2022: It wasn't easy to pick 'em
On his website, Majewski has called the GOP "raunch with lifetime politicians who are spineless and seek to serve themselves and the members of their exclusive 'club.'"
"We must fight to eradicate those within our party that seek to destroy it," his website adds. "We must hold them accountable to our Conservative principles and call them out when they cease to deliver."
Shares